Investigation into TalkTalk security breach leads to arrest of 15-year-old in Northern Ireland

TalkTalk Telecom, one of the UK’s largest wireless and broadband providers, suffered its third security breach last week. Early reports, corroborated by a group known as the TalkTalk Hackers, suggested the attack may have been the work of Islamic militants.

London’s Metropolitan Police seemingly put that theory out to pasture on Monday, arresting a 15-year-old teenager in Northern Ireland on suspicion of violating the UK’s Computer Misuse Act. As The Wall Street Journal explains, those suspected of committing a crime in the UK aren’t named until formal charges are filed.

Given the boy’s age, it’s unlikely that he will be named as laws are in place to protect minors.

Over the weekend, TalkTalk confirmed that it does not store credit card details on its website. Any card details that may have been accessed consisted of only partial numbers and thus, wouldn’t be of much use. The company also said user passwords weren’t compromised and that the amount of financial information that may have been accessed is expected to be lower than initially believed.

TalkTalk said on Monday that they know it has been a worrying time for customers and expressed gratitude for the swift response and hard work of the police.

Angry customers aren’t the only thing TalkTalk will have to contend with. Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee said it plans to look into the company’s data protection which will likely involve summoning some of its executives to provide details on the matter.